Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[BlueToff]

Think the only sure fire solution is Lockdown TIL Vaccine , not Lockdown OR Vaccine.

But governments around the world outside of those you meantion wont risk their economy's going bust. And I get that , but saving lives means everything to me.
Very difficult position for every country , but as I said some have managed this far better than others.

Can't have one without the other, unfortunately.

The global recession which follows this is going to cost a lot of lives.

Just on a UK scale, I'm sure the next year or so will be about pumping as much money back in as possible. But it's going to come back in some way and if it's the tories in power then that's going to mean more austerity - more privatisation/selling off of the NHS contracts to external contractors etc etc.

 

[BlueToff]

London should never have been out of T3. It was a decision which sums up the London-centricity of not just this government, but the entire political sphere in the country - both sides. Not one MP questioned why London was in T2 two weeks ago, at the time of the announcement.

Now, it all seems too late, because of the Christmas relaxation period.

 

[BlueToff]

As an excuse its particularly idiotic; if there is a new strain that spreads much more easily then the answer is to go to full lockdown country-wide to nip it in the bud now, not to do this farce of lockdown - no lockdown - lockdown again.

We could easily do it for at least 2-3 weeks and - for once - there wouldn't be as much damage to the economy; in fact if you combine it with ramping up the vaccinations you could concievably make any subsequent lockdown much less likely.

Without meaning to come across as harsh, especially if you're now facing Tier 3 (which is crap but the only actual difference to what you've had in London is that you won't be able to go out for a drink/substantial meal or sit in a coffee shop), but the November nation-wide lockdown just-so-happened to coincide with London's rates shooting up.

 

[Zezti]

The way the media are reporting this news about a new strain is absolutely atrocious and legitimate fear mongering which nobody needs.

See this from a Dr from the University of Bern;
there are many strains of the virus and there is no reason for people to fear this as some megamutation that will kill us all

Overview of Clusters in Countries with >20 Sequences in any Cluster​

The point being it is completely expected to have different strains of the same virus. The problem comes when people (editors) who can't understand the details try to and end up getting scared by the language and push fear on others.

 

[blulouie]

Can't have one without the other, unfortunately.

The global recession which follows this is going to cost a lot of lives.

Just on a UK scale, I'm sure the next year or so will be about pumping as much money back in as possible. But it's going to come back in some way and if it's the tories in power then that's going to mean more austerity - more privatisation/selling off of the NHS contracts to external contractors etc etc.

If they went anywhere near the NHS you would see the biggest mass revolt in British history my friend.
And I'm sure they know that.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

What Does December's Drug-Approval Dash Mean for COVID-19 Vaccines?

Even in the best of times, pharmaceutical regulators tend to rush through drug applications in December. Now add in a ruthless pandemic. Research and insights from Lauren Cohen.

hbswk.hbs.edu

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I think the important thing about the above article is twofold. Firstly the authorities really need to be communicating with people about this and the processes it has been through. Secondly, if "events" are likely, then they also need to be communicated transparently so that conspiracies don't emerge about cover-ups etc.

 

[Nymzee]

NZ and Aus followed the Asian SARS model but as I said it is much easier to do because of their location and population - that's what I highlight in my post.

I've defended (for lack of a better term) our government's approach earlier on in this when people were wondering why we didn't do as well and NZ and Aus.

What I will say is that we are an island so, unlike mainland Europe, we could have done what Aus and NZ did and banned travel (enforced two-week quarantine for anybody returning). We didn't do that at the start and that could have saved lives.

I know you mentioned it in your post but I still think it’s wrong to try compare somewhere like NZ to ourselves just because we’re an island. Unless you’re suggesting allowing flights into the country is the root cause of our issue.

It’s much easier to control a classroom of 10 kids than 100 kids.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Pfizer vaccine final results: it’s highly protective – but how long for?

We still need to know exactly what part of the immune response offers protection – and how strong it needs to be to remain protective.

theconversation.com

 

[Deleted member 48881]

Frank Lampard says fans should still be allowed in as London heads to tier 3

Frank Lampard has said Premier League clubs should not have to stop allowing fans into stadiums if their regions are placed under tougher Covid-19 restrictions

www.theguardian.com

 

[BlueToff]

I know you mentioned it in your post but I still think it’s wrong to try compare somewhere like NZ to ourselves just because we’re an island. Unless you’re suggesting allowing flights into the country is the root cause of our issue.

It’s much easier to control a classroom of 10 kids than 100 kids.

I'm not suggesting that at all. But leaving our borders open (again, for lack of a better term) with no testing at airports or enforced quarantine in the early months of this won't have helped.

They're all contributing factors.

 

[BlueToff]

If they went anywhere near the NHS you would see the biggest mass revolt in British history my friend.
And I'm sure they know that.

Will believe it when I see it but the economy will be on its a*** for years to come, so it can't be a case of one side or the other unfortunately.

 

[grandjoeblue]

Can't have one without the other, unfortunately.

The global recession which follows this is going to cost a lot of lives.

Just on a UK scale, I'm sure the next year or so will be about pumping as much money back in as possible. But it's going to come back in some way and if it's the tories in power then that's going to mean more austerity - more privatisation/selling off of the NHS contracts to external contractors etc etc.

I don't think the UK will be doing very well next year. The covid spend alongside brexit will cause a lot of pain.

Hopefully by vaccinating the whole population earlier we may be able to do ok from tourism etc but who knows.

 

[BlueToff]

I don't think the UK will be doing very well next year. The covid spend alongside brexit will cause a lot of pain.

Hopefully by vaccinating the whole population earlier we may be able to do ok from tourism etc but who knows.

I think they'll keep encouraging spending in any way they can though.

People do have money - it's not like everything has stopped - so there is money there to be spent. It's just the places that will be there to spend it in.

Guess we'll see more incentives like eat out to help out etc over the summer to try and get certain sectors a boost, but then after 2021 is when the cuts might start. Don't know, we'll see!

 

[tsubaki]

The Mail has excelled itself in its vileness today, apologies for linking directly to it but here’s its reporting on the increased lockdown conditions. Note the mention of Professor Alan McNally:

Ministers discuss tightening Christmas rules

Scientists fear easing lockdown for five days over Christmas could fuel the new Covid variant that may be behind a surge of cases in southern England.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Meanwhile, here’s the good professor writing in the Guardian today:

Backers of 'herd immunity' shouldn't have been allowed near Boris Johnson | Alan McNally

The fringe view was presented to the PM as he weighed a crucial decision, says Alan McNally, a professor in microbial genomics

www.theguardian.com

Strange that the Mail didn’t ask him about that herd immunity backing (which they are serially guilty of) and instead took one or two sentences and used them to provide puff to an article that isn’t really anything to do with the quote anyway.